Easy Oven Bacon

Cooking bacon can be a mess!

Avoid a greasy kitchen by cooking bacon in the oven. Use this method once a week, and you’ll have cooked bacon at the ready to embellish your favorite recipes, or simply complete your hearty breakfast.

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Lay bacon out flat on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or to desired doneness.

Remove pan from the oven, and set it aside to cool at an angle by wedging a wooden spoon under one side of the pan. With tongs, move bacon into a pile at the high side of the pan.

This slant allows the fat to drain as the bacon cools without having to dirty a colander, sink, or bowl with bacon grease.

When cool, blot with paper towel. Use the bacon immediately, or store it in the fridge. When you’re ready for it, a quick zap in the microwave will heat and crisp it right up.

Some chefs place the bacon on a rack on top of the baking sheet, which allows the fat to drain, and the bacon gets crispier. This is a terrific method, but I save it for the professional kitchen with professional dishwashers. I hate to wash both the rack and the pan at home. I find that the blotting is sufficient for grease removal, and for extra crispness, the microwave beats having my elbows in the pot sink.